Tricep Dips
Muscles worked
Instructions
- 1To get into the starting position, hold your body at arm's length with your arms nearly locked above the bars.
- 2Now, inhale and slowly lower yourself downward. Your torso should remain upright and your elbows should stay close to your body. This helps to better focus on tricep involvement. Lower yourself until there is a 90 degree angle formed between the upper arm and forearm.
- 3Then, exhale and push your torso back up using your triceps to bring your body back to the starting position.
- 4Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
About Tricep Dips
Parallel-bar triceps dips are a bodyweight compound movement, one of the most effective for the back of the arm. By keeping the torso vertical and the elbows close to the body, you mainly target the triceps, with help from the chest and shoulders. It is a complete exercise that builds upper-body strength and mass, and it overloads easily with a weight belt once bodyweight becomes too light. Do not go too low (elbow around 90°) to protect the shoulder, and avoid bouncing at the bottom.
check_circleBenefits
- check_circleWorks the triceps with assistance from the chest and shoulders
- check_circleBodyweight exercise, easy to scale up or add weight to
- check_circleBuilds upper-body pushing power
lightbulbExecution tips
- lightbulbKeep the torso as upright as possible to target the triceps
- lightbulbKeep the elbows tucked close to the body as you descend
- lightbulbLower until the elbows reach roughly 90 degrees
- lightbulbLock out at the top without shrugging the shoulders
warningCommon mistakes
- warningDipping too low and overloading the front of the shoulder
- warningLeaning the torso forward, which shifts load to the chest
- warningFlaring the elbows and losing the triceps focus
- warningUsing jerky reps instead of controlled movement
helpFrequently asked questions
How do I target the triceps rather than the chest on dips?expand_more
Keep the torso upright and the elbows tucked; leaning forward and flaring the elbows shifts the work to the chest.
Are tricep dips bad for the shoulders?expand_more
They're safe if you don't drop below 90 degrees at the elbow and keep the shoulders down; avoid excessive depth.
How do I overload dips once they get too easy?expand_more
Add weight with a dip belt or a dumbbell held between the feet. Increase in small steps while keeping strict form: weighted dips are an excellent mass builder.
Track your progress
Log your sets, your weights and beat your records — free, on mobile and desktop.